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By Kelly Faircloth 3:48pm

I'll Tumbl For You

Tumblr's Mr. Karp (Photo: wikipedia.org)

Report: Yahoo/Tumblr Deal Is a Go, For $1.1 Billion in Cash

Here we go, folks! The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Yahoo’s board has approved a rumored deal to purchase Tumblr for $1.1 billion in cash money. Forbes reports Tumblr’s board, which includes reps from Union Square Ventures, Sequoia Capital and others, has already voted to approve the deal. If it’s true that the company has only a few months of runway left, they’d be fools not to.

It’s a happy enough ending for Tumblr’s investors (and employees lucky enough to have a significant amount of stock), sure, but it’s not exactly the stirring success story the New York startup scene might’ve wished for. (A YouTube’s nice, but a Google would be better.) Yahoo’s got a long history of snapping up startups and frittering away their potential, and $1.1 billion must dash a few hopes for Silicon Alley’s flagship. The company only made $13 million in revenue last year, but as of March it had 117 million unique users worldwide. Read More

By Kelly Faircloth 5/17 9:45am

I'll Tumbl For You

He's staring at a large pile of money, shimmering in the distance like an oasis.

Yahoo’s Futile Search for the Fountain of Youth Continues, With Talk of Acquiring Tumblr

Looks like there might be a suitor waiting in the wings for Tumblr, that scatterbrained belle of the ball. He’s a real gray-hair, though. According to AllThingsD, the blogging site is talking to Yahoo about the possibilities for an alliance, an investment or even a lock-stock-and-barrel purchase. Ad Week says the highly hypothetical price tag could be as much as a billion dollars.

At this point, it might be easier to keep a list of the startups Yahoo hasn’t considered acquiring. Read More

By Kelly Faircloth 4/24 10:41am

I'll Tumbl For You

He's staring at a large pile of money, shimmering in the distance like an oasis.

Tumblr Reportedly Plans to Talk COO/Babysitter Candidates at Today’s Board Meeting

Sounds like it’s a big day for the little GIF engine that could. Business Insider reports that Tumblr has a board meeting this afternoon. On the agenda: sorting through COO candidates, plus a chat about revenue and maybe even hitting up the VC ATM for more investment.

Business Insider reports there are two final candidates in the running for the position of COO, and board member Roelof Botha is meeting with one of them this morning so the team can discuss. For what it’s worth, Mr. Botha: seems like almost anyone who considers profitability an important metric would be a valuable addition. Read More

By Kelly Faircloth 4/22 1:30pm

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Screenshot_2013-04-22-13-07-44

Tumblr Debuts Mobile Ads, Allowing Brands to Buy Their Way Into the Dashboard

Fire up your Tumblr mobile app this afternoon, and you’ll notice something new in the river of posts flowing through your dashboard. Scroll through and for the first time, you’ll see advertising mixed in with the #RHOA GIFs and nail art.

Ad Age reports that starting today, the profit-seeking startup is rolling out sponsored posts in the prime real estate of users’ streams, though only on mobile apps. Launch partners include G.E., Warner Bros. and ABC, and at most you’ll see four per day, identified with a little dollar sign. Read More

By Nitasha Tiku 10:45am

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Storyboard Speaks: Laid-Off Tumblr Staffers Discuss David Karp’s Decision

Earlier this week, Tumblr CEO David Karp took the stage at PaidContent Live for a panel called “Tumblr and the Future of Media.” It was a poignant title considering that one of the topics discussed was Mr. Karp’s recent, rather brusque blog post announcing the end of Storyboard, a high-profile editorial experiment that hired journalists to write features or film documentary video about Tumblr’s community of “creators.”

For example, this Storyboard piece about a photojournalist documenting a gang truce in El Salvador (on his Tumblr) was published by Mother Jones. One about activists and feminists using nail art (and the growing subculture on Tumblr) was produced in partnership with the Daily Beast. Read More

By Kelly Faircloth 4/11 6:45pm

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Well hello there. (via)

And Here is Tumblr’s New L.A. Office Space. Time to Sell Some Ads!

Well, well: Looks like even as Tumblr was shuttering Storyboard, the company was getting ready to begin another chapter on the sunny West Coast. Yesterday, the company’s head of sales, Lee Brown, posted several photos of an unfurnished building.

“Tumblr LA office open!!!” he captioned it. It looks just like every startup space in Soho–except for the rays, of course.

Smack in the center of the lead photo, holding up a key, is wunderkind CEO David Karp. It doesn’t seem like Mr. Karp lingered to answer questions from employees re: what was up with that Storyboard shutdown. Read More

By Nitasha Tiku 4/11 2:55pm

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david karp

String of Executive Departures Leaves a Leadership Vacuum at the Top of Tumblr

Late Tuesday night, while most of New York City was “afk” enjoying the balmy weather, Tumblr CEO David Karp snuck a post onto the staff blog paying tribute to Storyboard–a team of journalists and editors assigned to “cover Tumblr as a living, breathing community.”

After gushing with pride over Storyboard’s many accolades, Mr. Karp pivoted, abruptly. The year-old concept “had run its course” and the editorial team, he announced, “will be closing up shop and moving on.” Please, he asked, “join us in wishing them well.”

But the Storyboard layoffs, which affected three staffers peripheral to internal operations, are hardly the only departures Tumblr has faced over the past six or seven months. Rather, they’re the only ones Mr. Karp has spoken about publicly. Read More

By Kelly Faircloth 4/09 10:20pm

I'll Tumbl For You

He's staring at a large pile of money, shimmering in the distance like an oasis.

Tumblr Kills Storyboard; Editorial Employees Will Be ‘Moving On’

We’ve seen some late-afternoon news dumps, but this takes the cake: Tumblr CEO David Karp just announced that the company is shutting down Storyboard, the editorial experiment meant to highlight the work of the social network’s much-touted “creators.”

Even though Tumblr “couldn’t be happier with our team’s effort,” Mr. Karp wrote that, “What we’ve accomplished with Storyboard has run its course for now.” The editorial team “will be closing up shop and moving on.”

“I want to personally thank them for their great work. And please join us in wishing them well,” he added. Read More

By Nitasha Tiku 3/05 3:00pm

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‘Art Project’ No More?: After Six Years, Tumblr Tries to Turn a Profit Through Mobile Advertising

Earlier this year, Forbes staff writer Jeff Bercovici wrangled some pertinent numbers from Tumblr–in the midst of touring CEO David Karp’s $1.6 million minimalist loft in Williamsburg. Despite traffic of 18 billion page views per month (as of January), the company ended 2012 with $13 million in revenue.

For context, when Tumblr raised $85 million Read More